


Family Ties

by rosebud1000



Series: Good Parent Adrien Agreste [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, How Do I Tag, SO MUCH FLUFF, good parent adrien agreste, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23193100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosebud1000/pseuds/rosebud1000
Summary: According to the parenting books Adrien had read, he needed to have at least one activity he did with each kid- without Marinette or any of their siblings, and not something they’d do with their friends.(3 connected one-shots)Or, Adrien spends time with his kids, featuring fencing, star gazing, and piano playing.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste & Original Character(s)
Series: Good Parent Adrien Agreste [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663132
Comments: 9
Kudos: 103





	1. Emma

**Author's Note:**

> I am absolutely determined to fill this tag. Also, these are the names and years between the kids for any other fics in this series, so buckle up and learn some names. Also, despite the kid's ages at the time of fic going up throughout these three stories, they'll be featured in birth order.

Summer was beginning to fade into fall, the air cooling and sun setting earlier each night. Days were perfect; sunny without being hot, but still warm enough to not need a coat. Adrien and Marinette were both soaking in the last few days before they sent their oldest daughter, Emma, to school for the first time.

They had spent most of the summer wandering around Paris, aside from a weekend trip to Normandy in July. The park a block from their apartment had been where they’d spent most of their time, though. Adrien thought he had spent more time there than the apartment these past weeks.

Adrien felt something poke him in the back. He turned around, for a moment thinking it’d been an akuma. But it was just his daughter, grinning at him from the other end of a stick. She was giggling madly at him, wielding the stick like a fencing sabre. Adrien spun around, finding himself a stick in the nearby grass.

“You’re gonna have to learn self-defense, princess,” he warned her, tapping her stick with his.

Emma’s smile widened. “Okay!”

Marinette, who’d been walking behind her, toddler asleep in arms, sighed. “I’m going to sit down then,” she said, looking for an empty bench.

Adrien play-chased Emma off the path and onto the patch of grass designated for playing. She ran to it, nearly running straight into a kid twice her size. Adrien pulled her back towards him, then stood a few feet away.

“See if you can poke my chest,” he said, holding his stick close so she wouldn’t run into it.

As uncoordinated as she was, Emma stumbled around, waving her stick wildly. Several times, Adrien had to jump to avoid being hit in the face.

“Okay, let’s take a break,” Adrien said, dropping his stick. He bent down to Emma’s eye level and placed his hands next to hers on her stick. “Hold it stiffly, like this, so it doesn’t swing around so much. Try to poke me with the tip, not with the side.”

He had her practice a few strikes, facing away from anyone else to avoid an accidental jab.

“Alright, try again.” He picked up his stick, resuming his place a few feet from her.

This time, she had more control over her stick (though Marinette’s clumsiness remained). Adrien played all defensive, careful not to go full Chat Noir on her. 

When he’d first gained his miraculous, he’d used Chat Noir’s weapon to reclaim the sport his dad had forced upon him-- turning it into something useful that he could call his own. Then, Hawk Moth’s identity had been revealed, and all of that had shattered for Adrien. He’d spent years building up fencing as  _ his, _ even if he couldn’t claim it without revealing his identity, and that had all disappeared in a few seconds. His dad had forced him to go to fencing classes and competitions, then turned right around and forced him to use those skills to fight super-capable villains.

Emma reached past his stick, the tip of hers poking Adrien’s rib.

“ _ Touché! _ ” he declared. “Good job, princess.”

She ran over, throwing her stick to the ground to hug him. Adrien wrapped his arms around her, glad to have a way to take fencing back from his dad for good. Grinning, he held out his fist.

“ _ Bien joué! _ ”


	2. Kayla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Kayla go stargazing.

According to the parenting books Adrien had read, he needed to have at least one activity he did with each kid- without Marinette or any of their siblings, and not something they’d do with their friends.

With Emma, it’d been easy enough. From the minute she’d been old enough to play with sticks in the park, Adrien had been fencing with her. She loved it, and more and more, Adrien was finding ways to change his father’s strictness into things he loved. And, of course, it reminded him of his time as Chat Noir, though Plagg was often found hovering in the corner, watching, rather than being a part of the fight.

And even though Louis wasn’t quite four yet, he already seemed to love the piano.

But Kayla? Adrien had felt himself at a loss with her. She wasn’t as extroverted as her siblings, and spent hours at a time on the balcony, drawing. In the end, what he had discovered worked with her had been surprising.

“Did you get the pastries?” she whispered, careful not to wake the rest of the family. She had a blanket draped around her shoulders, and held their pillows in one hand.

“The whole box,” Adrien replied. Marinette had seen him eyeing it the moment she set it down, and told him to take the whole thing.

Together, they crept out of the apartment, climbing the stairs to the roof access. It was dark out, the Eiffel Tower aglow in the distance. As they settled themselves on the roof, a wind made their blankets flutter up. Kayla’s hair blew around her face.

“Alright, let’s see what stars we’re looking for.” Adrien pulled their chart from his pocket, unfolding the already well-worn paper. They huddled together under the blankets, matching their map to the sky above them. Paris’ light pollution meant there were a lot of constellations they couldn’t see; Adrien had promised her a camping trip this summer somewhere they could see more stars.

“Here,” he said, tracing his finger over the map. “See if you can find this orange star, it’s part of Hydra.”

Kayla stared intently upward, studying the sky. For eight years old, she had good skill finding constellations and stars. She often saw things even Adrien couldn’t see.

“Is that it?” she asked, pointing.

“I think so.”

She stared up at it a moment longer before turning to Adrien. “What’s the story?”

Adrien opened up his phone, searching the Hydra myth online. He started reading it aloud, but she wasn’t paying attention to him, her face tilted upward, lost in thought. He trailed off, and when she didn’t notice, he put an arm around her.

“What’re you thinking about?” he asked.

Her eyes followed the rooflines of Paris. “What was it like when Ladybug and Chat Noir were around?”

Adrien paused. Plagg blinked at him from the shelter of a pillow. They’d decided not to tell their kids their identities, but not to hide them either. If any of the kids asked, they would be given an honest answer. But this wasn’t asking, and she was still so young.

“It was… a little scary. All those akumas…”

Kayla curled into him. “But they were proof that magic is real.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said. He dropped his voice so she couldn’t hear him. “I guess we were.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hear me out. I wanted two girls and a boy, so their second daughter's name is Kayla. She's 3 years younger than Emma.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this bit of fluff!


	3. Louis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, this is happening. I forgot to post this chapter last night. Enjoy!

Filling the apartment with piano music was something Adrien was always going to love. Growing up, he hadn’t liked piano much, but once he was out of his dad’s house, that had changed. He was able to play the music he wanted to play, edging himself from romantic music into newer, contemporary pieces. He even composed himself, but not often.

It was a warm fall afternoon. Sunlight flooded the apartment. Marinette had taken Kayla to the market for produce, and Emma was still at an after-school club. Louis, who had been wandering around the apartment, sat down on the piano bench next to Adrien, facing away from the piano. He looked nervous.

“Hey dude,” Adrien stopped playing. “What’s up?”

Louis hesitated. “Can I date someone?”

Adrien didn’t have a response ready for that. “You’re twelve,” he said flatly.

“I know,” Louis sighed. “My friends keep trying to convince me to ask out my crush.”

“Are they being annoying?”

Louis shrugged. Adrien thought for a moment. He didn’t seem very anxious to hear Adrien’s answer, and there was clearly something he wasn’t saying.

“Do you want me to say no so your friends will stop bothering you about it?”

“Kind of,” Louis said, nodding.

“Well, in that case…” Adrien pulled Louis into a hug. “You’re not allowed to date anyone. I’m your dad, and I have to protect you from all those terrible people out there. Especially this kid…”

“Ryan,” Louis supplied.

“Ryan,” Adrien continued. “So no, you may not go on a date with Ryan.”

Louis was starting to laugh. “I mean, we’re twelve, right? And I don’t even know if Ryan’s gay!  _ Ryan _ probably doesn’t even know if Ryan’s gay!”

“Are you?” Adrien asked. It was a small risk to ask, but if Louis was too scared to answer, Adrien figured he may as well call the whole ‘parenting’ thing a bust. And Louis had just admitted his crush was a boy, so it was likely he was trying to bait Adrien.

“Well, I’ve never had a crush on a girl,” Louis said.

“Okay.” Adrien reached up to the stack of books on top of the piano. He found the one he wanted, and flipped through, setting a duet on the music stand. “Wanna play?”

Louis nodded, shifting so he was facing the keys, and Adrien made room on the bench. Adrien had taught all his kids how to play, but Louis had always loved it the most. When he was little, they’d have learned a new duet together at least once a week-- Tom and Sabine had probably never heard the same song played twice.

Adrien was glad for this point of connection. It allowed him to take his father’s example, stomp it into oblivion, and set it on fire. Even keeping the piano in the living room was a big change from how he’d grown up. Louis ended the final trill of the piece, then immediately began flipping through the book for another song.


End file.
